tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75182481311899801282024-03-08T00:18:23.888-08:00Coffee swillin' analog gamerI'll attempt to be coherent, but let's face it: This is where I try to get my thoughts in order before I post them elsewhere. It's about tabletop role playing gaming in general. Some of it is because my main posting site isn't right for some of the games I'll post about.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-71729832562663458602019-03-21T05:02:00.000-07:002019-03-21T05:02:42.612-07:00I got mine!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqaU9xw4b4xZIiHKc6RwY9bqjeYnkFjat5SFZdHa38FxhanesWTG4piU68lphfBfUfK9q803w8QgLHcYH7H76RL48yhTq3gcdt8x7RpqpvYv1vbApDN5Zbay5MtUgw38taee1wpHVRIkU/s1600/i_want_it_all.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqaU9xw4b4xZIiHKc6RwY9bqjeYnkFjat5SFZdHa38FxhanesWTG4piU68lphfBfUfK9q803w8QgLHcYH7H76RL48yhTq3gcdt8x7RpqpvYv1vbApDN5Zbay5MtUgw38taee1wpHVRIkU/s320/i_want_it_all.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Fantasy Trip Legacy Edition kickstarter has started shipping. I got mine yesterday! It's a pretty big box (lower left) that shipped in a much bigger box (top).<br />
<br />
All I can say at this point is WOW! There is some really nice stuff in here, and the physical quality is right up there at the usual high standard we've come to expect from Steve Jackson Games.<br />
<br />
This was the first roleplaying game I ever owned, back in the day. I've always wanted to see it back in print, and now here it is.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-25731514077760766452014-03-23T14:37:00.001-07:002014-03-23T14:37:57.565-07:00The Dungeon DozenWill Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-71570778732029561242014-02-12T14:03:00.004-08:002014-02-12T14:03:41.951-08:00Wargamer comics!For those of you who would be interested but haven't yet heard, there's a new wargaming comic called <a href="http://solonapoleon.blogspot.com/">Solo Napoleon</a>.<br />
<br />
I like it and am happy to advertise it here, because we need more good stuff in the world.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-72631687029850240362014-01-26T23:49:00.000-08:002014-01-30T20:30:43.418-08:0040th Anniversary of D&D<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">For the 40th Anniversary of D&D, I played in my regular, twice-monthly AD&D game.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">We couldn't find the stuff we had that we'd brought into the dungeon (but was taken off of us in a previous Half Party Kill (hereinafter known as HPK, as opposed to TPK).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">But we went back over the map, checked out every place we had been, throughout the entire (small) dungeon, and found the one thing we had missed. We found our MacGuffin, our lost gear, and some treasure they'd taken off of other hapless adventurers previously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In short, it was good old fashioned dungeoneering that saw us through. Not skill rolls, not pleading with the DM, not any of that. Going over the same old ground to see what we missed (and burning up the torches so we could see what we were doing -- yes, we keep track!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">It's not the thrill of killing a Dragon, that's true. But it IS the thrill of thinking our way through the problem. And that's better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Because that is what D&D is all about.</span>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-29501978688329711812014-01-23T07:01:00.003-08:002014-01-23T07:01:32.530-08:00At last!Not only am I updating this blog again (well, this once anyway -- we'll see how it goes...), but <i>Fight On!</i> is back as well!<br />
<br />
I've already flipped through the pdf, and there is a lot of old school goodness in here. Here's the press release:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Bloodied and staggered on the 66th level of Maure Castle, somehow, after a 2-year hiatus, we found the will to </span><i style="background-color: #fffffc; border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; max-height: 1000000px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Fight On</i><span style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">! This issue of our fabulous fanzine is packed with all the magic, monsters, mayhem, and miscellany you've come to expect to take your FRPing to the next level! Dedicated to Rob Kuntz, our fantastic authors and artists include Lee Barber, Patrick Farley, Jeff Rients, Gabor Lux, Peitsa Veteli, Kevin Mayle, Douglas Cox, Chris Kutalik, Jennifer Weigel, Kelvin Green, Tom Gordon, Michael Curtis, Sniderman, Calithena, Richard Rittenhouse, Hudson Bell, Michael Mornard, Baz Blatt, Jonathan Linneman, Simon Forster, and many more! Let's face it - no matter how old we get, Fight On! still punches harder than Ivan Drago wearing a Girdle of Storm Giant Strength. Grab your copy today!</span><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">You can obtain the TRULY old school dead tree print version here: </span><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/ignatius-umlaut/fight-on-14-20122013/paperback/product-21411537.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #fffffc; border: 0px; color: #006600; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; max-height: 1000000px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">www.lulu.com/shop/ignatius-umlaut/fight-on-14-20122013/paperback/product-21411537.html</a><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">and the formerly not very old school but now kind of old school due to the popularity of the Kindle and Epub fomats PDF here: </span><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/ignatius-umlaut/fight-on-14-pdf-version-20122013/ebook/product-21411519.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #fffffc; border: 0px; color: #006600; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; max-height: 1000000px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">www.lulu.com/shop/ignatius-umlaut/fight-on-14-pdf-version-20122013/ebook/product-21411519.html</a><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><br style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px; max-height: 1000000px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: #fffffc; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Thank you for your time and consideration. Fight On!</span>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-50574859097220985262012-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:002012-09-10T07:01:25.621-07:00Schroedinger's Game<br />
For many months I've just been a player, not running anything. It's my default state, really. But every once in awhile I want to run a game.<br />
<br />
The problem, of course, particularly for me, is that there are just too damn many great games out there! It's like Schroedinger's Cat. There is a large probability wave of different games I could run, but each time I move toward one, another calls out to me.<br />
<br />
I have a few restrictions. I won't run AD&D (or 2e or 3e or 3.14159e, or 4e). I'd run D&D, and have, but not as a regular thing.<br />
<br />
I've spoken about this in the past to a friend of mine who is both in my face-to-face AD&D game and also works with me. So last night at the game, while we were trying to decide what to do next ...<br />
<br />
<br />
... a little background here. When last we left our intrepid heroes, half the party was down, either dead or dying. The rest of the party was trying to kill three will-o-wisps. Not the easiest of challenges.<br />
<br />
One player had to drop out for a while for family reasons, which brings the group down to a more manageable 7 altogether.<br />
<br />
And we kind of all agreed that things weren't going the way we all wanted them to, and we needed a change.<br />
<br />
We all still have faith in our DM, that's not the issue. But interparty things have occurred.<br />
<br />
We need a change, and we'd like something different to cleanse our palates ...<br />
<br />
<br />
... So, one of the options was a Different Game System. And another was a Different GM.<br />
<br />
I opined that if I were to run something, it wouldn't be AD&D. My co-worker shortly thereafter suggested that I run Champions (second edition -- it's the one I'm most familiar with).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPIExBR7ej9XwRGYWzqnR0Zzz3GKxec8Ro0HaelJkUWkpjFfBltGh20f1OrtbFa7ZG5GHZ2GdWSlPbkEPc-8BJkCUWdvGyKjX31jQmm1aw5ck7YJDNWRUfa5mdcXmuhrT6tp1T1R3qjM/s1600/champions-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPIExBR7ej9XwRGYWzqnR0Zzz3GKxec8Ro0HaelJkUWkpjFfBltGh20f1OrtbFa7ZG5GHZ2GdWSlPbkEPc-8BJkCUWdvGyKjX31jQmm1aw5ck7YJDNWRUfa5mdcXmuhrT6tp1T1R3qjM/s1600/champions-original.jpg" /></a>This met with general approval, and before I knew it I had been shanghai'd.<br />
<br />
The probability wave has collapsed, and the game is Champions.<br />
<br />
I came home and dug out my vintage Champions gear, and am getting ready to run a few adventures using it for the first time in literally decades.<br />
<br />
And I couldn't be happier!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-14607705419487853102012-06-01T12:13:00.002-07:002012-06-01T12:13:45.863-07:00And that's awl she wrote...No, that's not a typo; that's a pun.<br />
<br />
In last night's DCC game on G+, one of the characters had but an awl for a weapon. That was awl I needed to get the awl puns flowing. When he lost the weapon, I said: "He gave it his awl."<br />
<br />
(There was another, but I've forgotten it.)<br />
<br />
The great thing about G+ gaming is that nobody can throw dice at my head when I do that!<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm mean to my fellow players. But they still let me come back...Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-33319029996268918852012-03-02T03:51:00.004-08:002012-03-02T04:07:25.782-08:00Favorite QuoteHere's one of my all-time favorite Referee/GM advice quotes:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"The purpose of a referee is to present obstacles for players to overcome as they go about seeking their goals, not to constantly make trouble for them. This is a very subtle distinction, and many beginners have trouble with it."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Book 0: An Introduction to Traveller</span> (p.12) written by Loren K. Wiseman<br /><br /><br />Now, there's just a whole multitude of goodness in those two sentences.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">...to present obstacles for players to overcome...<br /><br /></span>Tricks and traps are obstacles. So are wandering monsters.<br /><br />And the fact that the obstacles are for the players to overcome indicates that they should not be insurmountable. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span><br />(Although fighting may not be the way to overcome that <span style="font-style: italic;">particular </span>obstacle...)<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">...as they go about seeking their goals...</span><br /><br />Note that their goals are not necessarily <span style="font-style: italic;">your </span>goals. You can design an adventure, but what the players do with it is ultimately up to them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">...not to constantly make trouble for them.<br /></span><br />I've known a few referees who didn't get this point. There seems to be a lot of material out there of the "Let's screw the players!" variety.<br /><br />I mean, I'm no saint. I've done it myself. It was fun, but not in a long-term way (and that particular game went away a long, long time ago.) I think we'd all be better off to remember this advice.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, for the comments, what's <span style="font-style: italic;">your </span>favorite piece of Referee/GM advice? I particularly mean from a published game book, like mine above, but I'd also be willing to accept something an 'older, wiser' referee passed on to you.<br /><br />Phone lines are open!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-29295399861203053242012-01-31T11:51:00.000-08:002012-01-31T12:50:38.968-08:00Random table for JeffThis is in response to Jeff's post <a href="http://jrients.blogspot.com/2012/01/dang-it-who-blogged-about-10-corridors.html">here</a>.<br /><br />It's a d30 table, because I know Jeff likes his d30.<br /><br />Random Mishap Table (for Jeff)<br /><br />Dungeon events, roll hourly:<br /><br />d30 result<br /><br />01 --- Toe stubbed on loose flagstone, 1 hp damage<br />02 --- Torch "just goes out"<br />03 --- Torch dropped, goes out on 1-3 on d6<br />04 --- Backpack strap digs in too much, must stop and adjust.<br />05 --- Pebble in shoe; stop and take it out or move reduced by 1/4<br />06 --- Skivvies riding up; all rolls at -1 until adjusted<br />07 --- Head hit on low ceiling (or outcrop); 2 hp damage unless wearing helmet<br />08 --- Trip and fall taking 1-3 hp damage.<br />09 --- Charley horse! Must rest and massage it out or movement halved and all rolls -1.<br />10 --- Distraction; somebody stops to check something out (1 turn wasted)<br />11 --- Accidentally stab buddy with ready weapon, roll normal damage (but no STR)<br />12 --- No event<br />13 --- No event<br />14 --- No event<br />15 --- No event<br />16 --- No event<br />17 --- No event<br />18 --- No event<br />19 --- No event<br />20 --- No event<br />21 --- No event<br />22 --- No event<br />23 --- No event<br />24 --- No event<br />25 --- No event<br />26 --- No event<br />27 --- No event<br />28 --- Drunken monsters, 1-6, party automatically gains surprise<br />29 --- Someone dropped their purse! 1-2 copper, 3-4 silver, 5 gold, 6 platinum (1-100)<br />30 --- Someone dropped a magic item! 1 cursed, 2-5 low on charges, 6 normalWill Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-88846471755001610772012-01-09T12:01:00.000-08:002012-01-09T12:24:09.423-08:00D&D VWizards of the Coast announced today that they were working on D&D 5th edition. (Which shows that, while they can't count, at least they're consistent...)<br /><br />Despite having a draft of a playtest document already, they claim that they want input from gamers on what Type V should be like. Well, here are mine:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Did I order a kitchen sink?</span><br /><br />Why, no. No I didn't.<br /><br />If you're going to put out a game that you want people to actually <span style="font-style: italic;">play</span>, you need to redefine your concept of "core rules". I don't want three vast tomes that I have to fully read and digest before I can start to play. I want to get started and learn more from there.<br /><br />Start us off with one core book, why don't you? You can call it a "basic set" if you like, but before you do take a look at the old basic sets for what they did right (and the older WOTC ones to see what NOT to do...). Actually, take a look at the Pathfinder Basic Box for a not-too-bad idea.<br /><br />Give us 4 classes: Fighting-Men, Clerics, Magic-Users and Thieves (yes, I know you're going to change the names. That doesn't matter. The basics do matter, though, and you know that you know this.) You want your fighter to be different? Roleplay it! You don't need five different fighting classes.<br /><br />Give us 3 or 4 races. Just humans, elves and dwarves would work (okay, halflings if you absolutely must...). We really don't need to start out with half-Tiefling, half-Dragonborn, fully psychotic unplayable messes. Really we don't.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But players like lots of options!!!</span> you say.<br /><br />Bloody good for them, then. You want us to have options? Fine, put out option books. But make it absolutely plain, both in the player's and DM's sections, that options are OPTIONAL. Nobody can come into my game and insist that idiotic class/race combination is automatically playable because "it said so in this book!". And while we're on that subject:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Empower the DM.</span><br /><br />It's his or her game, after all. I got quite sick and tired of 3.5, because there were far too many books and the players would use them to slap the DM around. He wouldn't take it, but they kept trying. Hey, I'm here to game, not to watch another argument. If you could just put in the book somewhere, in nice bold print:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What the DM says is final. If you want to argue, do it in your blog.</span><br /></div><br />it would certainly save a lot of grief. (Your mileage may vary; it's possible I've just been playing with a bunch of immature mooks for the past 30 years...)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bring back the sense of wonder.</span><br /><br />If you absolutely have to put in a system for every hick redneck magical type to make their own magical items, put it in a supplement. An entirely optional supplement.<br /><br />Magic is supposed to be ... well, <span style="font-style: italic;">magical</span>. The production line, magic-as-tech version from 3.5 (and I'd assume 4.0 as well) was entirely wrong for D&D.<br /><br />"Hey, we found a wand! Let's see what spell it duplicates."<br /><br />Whatever happened to the Wand of Wonder? That was a nifty item. And it's a good example of how magic should be, truly wondrous and not just another 'ho-hum let's toss it on the pile with the rest of them' kind of thing.<br /><br />(There should also be a section in the DM's advice on keeping magic rare. In one game I was in, we seriously considered making for our house a picket fence out of the innumerable +1 swords we kept picking up...)<br /><br /><br />What else? You might want to mention in there that it's a game of exploration, not combat. That changes the whole emphasis and thus the whole game (and for the better, I think; again, YMMV.)<br /><br />Also, take out critical hits. Gary Gygax warned DMs not to include them, no matter how much the players wanted them. Sure, it's kinda cool to deal out an incredible amount of damage to the bad guy, but when he does it to you (and far more often...) it's not that much fun.<br /><br /><br />And it's about having fun, isn't it? Or is it just about selling more product?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anyway, that's the view from my branch of the tree. As Craig Ferguson says, "I look forward to your letters."Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-8276221030729972562011-12-13T09:43:00.001-08:002011-12-13T09:49:20.812-08:00To those of you confused during last night's game:This is what GI Joe hands looked like when I was a kid:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpv40LPZhjToBSunlfFoDALTJVwR9Msr8lyt2oQ3P09qz76P9DRBHoPxjzsxsXZjejCmNIWIHeWCLvgz6uH9jU7r7GF1meUZr5r0rQMst2MOwIvy6AJckT52o8oFzQYJSMyctE1_59aE/s1600/GIJoehands.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpv40LPZhjToBSunlfFoDALTJVwR9Msr8lyt2oQ3P09qz76P9DRBHoPxjzsxsXZjejCmNIWIHeWCLvgz6uH9jU7r7GF1meUZr5r0rQMst2MOwIvy6AJckT52o8oFzQYJSMyctE1_59aE/s320/GIJoehands.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685671395979300738" border="0" /></a><br />Hope that clears up any lingering confusion.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-56413137454409918642011-12-12T22:25:00.001-08:002011-12-12T22:29:14.924-08:00Abbador lives!New Monday, new session of the Vats of Mazarin, and Abbador didn't die!<br /><br />I'm so happy I haven't even totalled up my experience to see if I made a level or not. (I may not even be close.)<br /><br />(Just checked; no, I didn't make a level. But I'm getting closer!)Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-78532999327226993172011-12-05T21:36:00.000-08:002011-12-05T21:39:58.653-08:00Vats of Mazarin againWell, I can safely say that my connectivity problems are (for the while at least) done. I just got done with another Vats of Mazarin game on Google+.<br /><br />Abbador died again (we only had 2 pc's at that time, and I got into melee. Not a good position for a Magic-User...), but was raised by the rest of the party.<br /><br />Next time, I'll hire mercenaries. Even if I have to take one down to the Vats and clone him!Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-71995481622985707142011-12-03T13:27:00.000-08:002011-12-03T13:30:15.138-08:00When in doubt, reinstall, part IIAnd even <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> you have a doubt, run reliable anti-virus and anti-malware software!<br /><br />Finally, after a combination of things (AVG PC Tune Up and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, to be specific), I think I've finally solved the computer problem that was preventing me from participating in hangouts on Google+. At least, I tried to start a hangup today and it worked.<br /><br />I missed out on the Conan game last Thursday, which was a real bummer. But it looks like I'll be there this week.<br /><br />I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-28756806221215789752011-11-15T23:34:00.000-08:002011-11-15T23:37:50.549-08:00When in doubt, reinstall.I reinstalled the Google Talk plugin, so it seems that I can participate in hangouts on Google+ again. That's a relief.<br /><br />(My apologies to everybody in Monday's "Vats of Mazarin" game that didn't happen; I tried and tried, but nothing worked. Now it seems fixed.)<br /><br />Not much else to say, really. I haven't done as much gaming as I'd like lately, but the only person I can blame for that is myself.<br /><br />I think I'll get back to work on the whole "Freedom in the Galaxy"/"Worlds of Wonder" mashup I was working on last spring. It feels like time to get back to that.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-20784499591403004452011-10-06T20:43:00.000-07:002011-10-06T20:47:55.072-07:00Another Thursday post!If it's Thursday, it must be Arcadayn's "Conan" game.<br /><br />Better connection all around, this time. My video froze a couple of times, but I didn't get booted and my screen didn't go all screwy (see previous post).<br /><br />We're now escaped slaves, in some unknown (to us) city, teaching our Pictish barbarian the ways of civilization by going through pretty much every crime we know, one by one. So far we've done:<br /><br />* escaped slaves,<br /><br />* burglary, and<br /><br />* mugging.<br /><br />We might work our way up to murder or a bit of light arson; who knows? The night is still young...Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-89159501359953103322011-09-29T21:54:00.000-07:002011-09-29T22:02:22.404-07:00Not sure what happened here...The game I was in tonight had one man absent, but proceeded pretty well nonetheless.<br /><br />And then, this happened:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklRBIBJ-L9gwi2TaQIXhMrbtpYRuVOBGyqV8Io3QejjKi2xtqb2Lrx5SjC4Lhxi9nUT34Nys0NIHRV5TTpJZee_bd8_0804IrXVaG_pLDGxaGBMJ10BaBDs5mlwJD2ZyE_UlJMqKJ5rs/s1600/ActualGame.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklRBIBJ-L9gwi2TaQIXhMrbtpYRuVOBGyqV8Io3QejjKi2xtqb2Lrx5SjC4Lhxi9nUT34Nys0NIHRV5TTpJZee_bd8_0804IrXVaG_pLDGxaGBMJ10BaBDs5mlwJD2ZyE_UlJMqKJ5rs/s320/ActualGame.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658011997221398066" border="0" /></a><br />(Click for full-sized weirdness)<br /><br />I've never seen anything like it. Not sure if it was Google+ or my own machine (I had just installed the newest version of Firefox).<br /><br />This was in addition to the routine connection errors I get.<br /><br />If anyone can tell me what it was, that'd be great. In the meantime, I'll continue playing and see what other weirdness turns up.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-91634778489773139172011-09-14T11:06:00.000-07:002011-09-14T11:12:23.933-07:00What?I could have sworn I posted something here last night.<br /><br />But now it's not here.<br /><br />Ah, well.<br /><br />Just letting you know that I'm still here, and I've been gaming both in person and on Google+. Got to try out <a href="http://bravehalfling.com/?p=250">X-Plorers</a> (which I've owned for about 2 years now but have never actually played until now...I hate that, but it's the way I am.)<br /><br />Anybody on Google+ have any requests? Anything you want to play that you haven't yet?<br /><br />I really feel like running something, but can't decide. Too many choices! Arrgh!<br /><br />(but not Arrr! That's for <a href="http://www.talklikeapirate.com/">Talk Like a Pirate Day</a>, and that won't happen until the 19th.)Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-11609060905832205272011-08-16T15:45:00.001-07:002011-08-16T15:45:57.817-07:00Not an amorphous blob!
<br />
<br />Tried out my new webcam in the Vats of Mazarin game last night. Everybody was happy that they could actually hear me this time, and that I wasn't really the amorphous blob they'd come to know.
<br />
<br />Sadly, however, I was having server issues. So for about half the game I couldn't hear <i>them</i>. Pity, too, because I could see them laughing -- but I hadn't heard the joke.
<br />
<br />But we had a good session, made some allies, cleared some of the dungeon. Three or four of us made a level (including me!)
<br />
<br />So that was pretty good.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-3901580203623848322011-08-15T00:17:00.000-07:002011-08-15T00:19:00.910-07:00Generation GapIn my AD&D game, we've been trekking through this one tunnel for over a day now (game time). We keep coming across side tunnels, which don't get us to our objective.
<br />
<br />Tonight, we came to another side tunnel. And inside it, we found another side tunnel. And the DM was busy looking something up. So, as it my way, I said:
<br />
<br />"And we came to another side road and off to the side of the side road was another fifteen foot cliff. And at the bottom of the cliff was another half a ton of garbage. We decided one big pile was better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up, we decided to throw ours down. So that's what we did.
<br />
<br />"We went back to the Church, had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep, and didn't get up until the next morning when we got a phone call from Officer Obie."
<br />
<br />
<br />And they all stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
<br />
<br />So I said "Alice's Restaurant?"
<br />
<br />And they said "What's Alice's Restaurant?"
<br />
<br />The DM recognized it, vaguely, but couldn't be sure if it was Arlo or Woodie Guthrie (I told him it was Arlo, Woodie's son.)
<br />
<br />
<br />That's when I felt really, really old.
<br />
<br />Now I'm trying to dig this classic up on iTunes, so I can bring it along and enlighten these puir wee bairns about popular culture from the time of D&D's creation.
<br />
<br />Okay, couldn't find it on either iTunes or YouTube, so I sent them the link from Grooveshark. In case you need to hear it (and hey, who doesn't?), here it is:
<br />
<br /><a href="http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=Alice%27s+Restaurant">http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=Alice%27s+Restaurant</a>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-12121385605828725972011-08-10T21:36:00.000-07:002011-08-10T21:49:16.398-07:00...but am I paranoid enough?(It's the punchline to an old joke, in case you were wondering.)<div>
<br /></div><div>What could inspire such a title?</div><div>
<br /></div><div><i><a href="http://www.goodmangames.com/dungeoncrawlclassics.html">Dungeon Crawl Classics</a></i>, that's what.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Finally got to give it a try, again on Google+. I'm really starting to like this service, by the way. Two nights in a row I've been able to game (and, incidentally, meet fellow gamers), all without leaving the comfort of my home.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>What can I say that wasn't already said months ago?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It's not as bad as it looks. How's that?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The reputation that proceeds DCC (for short) is that it's even more hardcore than old school D&D was. When I started, in the early 80's, the old guys in my group told of the days when you'd start 5 first level characters, hoping just one would survive to second level.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Well, DCC trumps that: You start with a handful of <i>unlevelled</i> characters, hoping one will survive to make <i>first</i>.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I must have done well; 3 of my 4 survived. And there were only 2 of us playing! Out of 8 characters, 5 of us survived. Not bad.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I could actually feel my old school dungeoneering skills oozing back into me (which is nowhere near as creepy as it sounds).</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I thought I'd lost them, what with all the 3.5 I played. But they're still there. And now some of the rust has been knocked off them.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div>But aside from the system, I'm absolutely loving the new opportunities to play games with people I've never met before. A lot of them are from the Original D&D Discussion forum, where I've been a regular almost since it started. It's good to put a face and a voice to these guys.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>And they are, without exception, Good People (tm).</div><div>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div>I gotta say, I <i>like</i> living in the future!</div>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-4495147563136163012011-08-10T11:45:00.000-07:002011-08-10T11:46:07.125-07:00Gaming OnlineNote that this is not the same as "online gaming", by which I mean World of Warcraft and such things. What I'm talking about here is playing a standard analog rpg (in this case, B/X D&D) online.
<br />
<br />I got to do this for the first time last night, and I had a blast.
<br />
<br />Everybody knew the game, so we didn't have to worry about that. We got started pretty quickly.
<br />
<br />As is typical with 3d6 in order, we had some character quirks:
<br />
<br />* The Thief had a higher Wisdom than the Cleric.
<br />
<br />* The Cleric had a higher Strength (and a higher AC) than the Fighter.
<br />
<br />* The Magic-User (me!) had more hit points than the Thief (I rolled a 4 and had a +1 Con bonus).
<br />
<br />Overall, we were a pretty low Wisdom party, so doing silly stuff seemed right up our alley.
<br />
<br />We were kind of bummed when we lost the Thief, but he came back as a Dwarf in fairly short order. (And when we lost the Fighter, he came back as another Cleric).
<br />
<br />Regarding these last two points, I have to say I was quite pleased to be in a game with experienced, veteran players. Neither of these things was a problem. I've seen a lot of newer players get all bent out of shape if everyone isn't "serious!" all the time. I've also seen them have a harder time with character death.
<br />
<br />These guys took it all in stride and kept the game going. That's the kind of player I can get along with.
<br />
<br />Naturally, I did my best to be the comic relief. I can't help it; I see funny situations crop up and I can't resist commenting on them. They all laughed, though, so I got away with it.
<br />
<br />(Plus they got the inside jokes, too. Party: "Why don't you fire your <i>Magic Missile</i> at the hand coming out of the fountain?" Me: "I'm saving it for the Darkness.")
<br />
<br />All in all, it was a very positive experience. We're going to do it again when we're all available, and I'm really looking forward to it.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-50310981219663230562011-08-05T09:30:00.000-07:002011-08-05T09:31:28.767-07:00I Have Been AssimilatedAnd now, I also have a gmail account.<br /><br />But you can still reach me at the old, usual places.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-88667654439949515832011-08-04T19:45:00.000-07:002011-08-04T19:49:12.673-07:00Google+Apparently, Google+ is the latest technology for doing old-school gaming.<br /><br />Or even new-school gaming, if that's what you want.<br /><br />I approve. I haven't tried it yet, but I want to. I want to play something before I run something, but I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> to run something. I want to run a lot of somethings.<br /><br />It seems perfect for experimentation. Want to try a new system? Do it on Google+, without disrupting your regular group.<br /><br />Don't have a regular group? Try Google+ and discover groupness beyond measure. (Sure, I know "groupness" isn't a real word, but I got it from a friend of mine. So it stands.)<br /><br />If anybody wants to run something on Google+, let me know. I'd be happy to try almost anything.Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518248131189980128.post-87385603650604089312011-07-27T13:59:00.001-07:002011-07-27T13:59:55.205-07:00Gary's birthday<div style="-moz-border-radius: 15px;<br />border-radius: 15px; border: 4px solid blue; padding: 5px; width: 250px; background: #ffc; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em;"><img src="http://blogofholding.com/images/garyavatar.gif" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 3px;" align="left" /><b><b>Will</b> took the <b><a href="http://blogofholding.com/">Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World</a></b> and got 70%!</b><br /><br /><br /><br />You are a Gary Gygax <b>Champion.</b> If knowledge of the minutiae of Gary Gygax's life translated to political power, you would be the satrap of a continent-sized province, owing allegiance to no one (except maybe <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com" target="_blank">that Grognardia guy</a>).<br /><br /><b>Paladin Code:</b> You completed this quiz without using Google.</div>Will Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379173017869751088noreply@blogger.com0